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Nippon Kōgaku lenses before 1945
Acht designs Two years after its foundation in 1917, Nippon Kōgaku invited eight German advisers, who arrived in 1921. Baird, p.52. They were specialists in optics and lens design and manufacture, among whom were Heinrich Acht, Hermann Dillmann and Max Lange. Baird, p.52. Most of them returned to Germany in 1926 at the end of their contract, and only Heinrich Acht remained until 1928. Baird, p.53; Tanaka, p.89 of no.10. From 1925 to 1928 he designed a number of lenses, from 7.5cm to 50cm focal length and from f/2 to f/6.8 maximal aperture. Tanaka, p.89 of no.10, Lewis, p.184. Among them were three-element Flieger Objektiv 50cm lenses in f/5.4 and f/4.8 aperture, probably for aerial cameras. This table from an unknown Japanese source says both f/4.8 and f/5.4. Braakhuis also says f/4.8 and f/5.4 in "The History of Nippon Kogaku 1600–1949". Baird, p.53, mentions f/5.4 only, and Lewis, p.184, only f/4.8. Schwanner says f/4.5 in "Nikon 1917–1997", certainly by mistake. The other reported designs were a six-element Doppel Anastigmat f/6.8 (in 7.5cm, 10.5cm, 12cm, 15cm and 18cm), a four-element Dialyt Anastigmat f/6.3 (in 7.5cm, 10.5cm and 12cm) and f/4.5 (in 12cm), a three-element Porträt Objektiv 24cm f/3.0 and 30cm f/3.5 and a Projektions Objektiv 7.5cm f/2.0 projection lens. Table from an unknown Japanese source reproduced in Fotóművészet Online. It is not known if these lenses were actually manufactured or not, and it seems that none was mounted on a civilian camera. Anytar lenses The Anytar lenses have a Tessar formula, and were first drawn by Hermann Acht or the other German engineers, then recomputed by Japanese engineers. Itō, "Anytar lens". Baird, p.54, says that the Anytar were developed by Sunayama from 1929. It is said that a total of seven focal lengths were studied: 7.5cm, 10.5cm, 10.7cm, 12cm, 15cm, 18cm and 36cm. Full list in Itō, "Anytar lens". Baird, p.55, only mentions the 7.5cm, 10.5cm, 15cm and 18cm. Four of these designs: 10.5cm f/4.5, 10.7cm f/4.5, 15cm f/4.5 and 18cm f/4.5, appear in a notebook by the engineer Yoshihashi Kagorō (吉橋嘉五郎), dated May 1930 and kept in the company's archives. Itō, "Anytar lens", where the cover page of the notebook and the lens scheme of the 10.5cm f/4.5 are reproduced. The notebook reportedly attributes the 10.5cm to Yoshihashi himself (certainly working on an original design by Acht), the 10.7cm to Hermann Dillmann and the other two designs to Acht. Itō, "Anytar lens". The attribution of the 10.7cm to Dillmann would mean that it was designed in 1926 at the latest. The company still owns a prototype of this lens, mounted in a dial-set Compur shutter and having no marking. Lens pictured in Itō, "Anytar lens". After the departure of Acht in 1928, the lens design department was taken over by Sunayama Kakuya (砂山角野). Itō, "Anytar lens"; Itō, "The Aero-Nikkor"; Baird, p.54. The first Anytar 12cm f/4.5 was completed in 1929, then improvements in the design and manufacturing process yielded satisfactory results from 1930 or 1931. Itō, "Anytar lens"; Baird, pp.54 and 56. It was the only Anytar lens to reach preseries level. It has the name Anytar 1:4.5 f=12cm and Nippon Kogaku around the rim. Tanaka, p.89 of no.10, says that the mount looks very much like the imported Wekar f/4.5 lens equipping some Japanese cameras of the time. It is said that the company bought twenty Lily plate folders and equipped them with Anytar lenses and dial-set Compur shutters, for experimental purpose. , item 1126; Baird, p.56. The lens numbers known so far are no.3045, 3087 and 3093, the first and last being mounted on Lily cameras. Lens no.3045 reported in Yazawa, p.23 of no.271, on a Lily. — Lens no.3087 reported in Baird, p.55. — Lens no.3093 reported in Awano, p.3 of no.43, and in Baird, p.55, on a Lily. It is said that remaining Anytar lenses were sold to company employees for ¥20 in 1937. Itō, "Anytar lens". Nikkor lenses The trademarks "Nikkor" and "Aero-Nikkor" were applied for in July 1931 and granted in April 1932. Trademark publications (商標公告) no.S07-1808 and S07-1809, for the names "Nikkor" and "Aero-Nikkor", in the IPDL trademark database. The name Nikkō (日光) was already used by the company as an abbreviation of Nippon Kōgaku (日本光学), long before the introduction of the Nikon brand, and the new trademark was created by adding the suffix "-r", common for lens names. The Anytar 12cm f/4.5 lens was consequently renamed Nikkor in 1932. Itō, "Anytar lens"; Baird, p.57. It is said that the name change coincided with further improvements to the lens. Itō, "Anytar lens". One early Nikkor 12cm f/4.5 lens reportedly has no.3187, probably in the same sequence as the Anytar no.30xx. Lens no.3187 reported in Awano, p.3 of no.43, and in Baird, p.55. Other Nikkor lenses followed in 7.5cm, 10.5cm and 18cm focal lengths. Itō, "Anytar lens" and "The Aero-Nikkor". These lenses were produced in small quantities, and were mounted on few cameras. At least two Nikkor 105/4.5 are known to exist, one on a Konishiroku Idea (1930 model), the other on a Contessa-Nettel Folding Camera. Example pictured in , item 1103. A Nikkor 10.5cm f/4.5 lens is pictured below on a Contessa-Nettel Folding Camera. It is serial number 150174. Nikkor150mm45.jpg IMG_0078.JPG Nikkor 7.5cm f/4.5 lenses are pictured below on a Seica (4.5×6) and a Mamiya Six III. They have a serial number in the 75xxx range, whose first two digits certainly indicate the focal length. Nippon Kōgaku also made a range of Nikkor lenses for the early Canon models. They would form the basis for the lenses made after World War II for the Nikon rangefinder cameras. Trimar and Aero-Nikkor lenses In 1929, Sunayama drew a 50cm f/4.8 three-element aerial lens called Trimar. Lewis, p.184; Yazawa, p.21 of no.271. It was certainly an evolution of the Flieger Objektiv designed by Acht, Lewis, p.184; Yazawa, p.21 of no.271. though it is also said that Sunayama brought a Zeiss Triplet 50cm f/4.8 from Europe in 1928, using it as a model. Itō, "The Aero-Nikkor". Other Trimar lenses are known on Japanese cameras of the period, but they are certainly unrelated. The three-element aerial lens became the Aero-Nikkor 50cm f/4.5 in 1932. At least one surviving example is still held by the company. Itō, "The Aero-Nikkor", says that the lens was exhibited at the Photo Imaging Expo in 2008. Pictures appear in this Chinese forum and this Japanese blog. Its barrel is engraved N°4, with the exact focal length in millimetres. The 50cm f/4.8 was followed by the Aero-Nikkor 70cm f/5, also completed in 1932, This page at Red Book Nikkor by Akiyama Michio, quoting the 75-year history book by Nikon. which was ordered by the air force of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1933. Itō, "The Aero-Nikkor". The same year, the air force also ordered a 18cm f/4.5, Itō, "The Aero-Nikkor". but it is unclear if this was the regular Nikkor lens or a specific Aero-Nikkor design. Itō, "The Aero-Nikkor", mentions a Nikkor, and this page by Akiyama Michio, quoting the 75-year history book by Nikon, mentions an Aero-Nikkor. Other Aero-Nikkor lenses reported in the company's 75-year history book are the 7.5cm f/3.5, dated 1937, and the 10cm f/5.6 wideangle, dated 1939. This page by Akiyama Michio, quoting the 75-year history book by Nikon. An Aero-Nikkor 20cm f/3.5 was also produced, perhaps for the SK-100 aerial camera. Examples pictured in this page at Red Book Nikkor and [this page at Wetwing Aerial Camera. Finally, the R-Aero-Nikkor 50cm f/5.6 was designed in 1944 for the Automatic Aerial Camera Type 1, and 600 units of the lens were made until the end of the war. This page by Akiyama Michio, quoting the 75-year history book by Nikon (the English version slightly differs and is probably less accurate). One example of that lens is pictured in this page at Red Book Nikkor. It has a NIKKO logo on the front rim, and serial number 38352376. Notes Bibliography * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Anitā renzu tsuki Rirī kamera" (アニターレンズ付きリリーカメラ, Lily camera with Anytar lens). In no.46 (April 1981). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. * Pp.54–6. * Braakhuis, Hans. "The History of Nippon Kogaku 1600–1949". Published in pdf format in Nikon Catalogus. * Itō Mikio (伊藤幹生). Archivist's Memo No.2 "Anytar Lens" (メモ No.2「アニター・レンズ」). Published in the Nikon official website (see links below). * Itō Mikio (伊藤幹生). Archivist's Memo No.4 "The Aero-Nikkor" (メモ No.4「Aero-Nikkor」). Published in the Nikon official website (see links below). * P.184. (The first name of Sunayama Kakuya is misspelled, and the maximal aperture of the Anytar 12cm is wrong.) * Schwanner, Endre. "Nikon 1917–1997". Published at Fotóművészet Online (see links below). * Schwanner, Endre. "Sixty-five year history of Nikkor lenses". Published at Fotóművészet Online (see links below). * Items 1103 and 1126. * Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Hekisā F4.5 no tanjō" (ヘキサーF4.5の誕生, The birth of the Hexar f/4.5). Pp.88–9. (Mentions the early lenses by Nippon Kōgaku.) * Trademark publications for the names "Nikkor" and "Aero-Nikkor". The trademarks were applied for (出現) on 24 July 1931 and granted (公告) on 7 April 1932 (no.S07-1808 and S07-1809). Available in the IPDL trademark database. * Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Renzu no hanashi (181) Torimā renzu" (レンズの話181トリマー・レンズ, Lens story 181 Trimar lens). In no.271 (January 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.21–3. Links In English: * Pages of the Nikon official website: ** Archivist's Memo No.2 "Anytar Lens", article by Itō Mikio in English and in Japanese, showing an Anytar 10.7cm f/4.5 prototype and an Anytar 12cm f/4.5 ** Archivist's Memo No.4 "The Aero-Nikkor", article by Itō Mikio in English and in Japanese, showing an Aero-Nikkor 50cm f/4.8 * Pages of Fotóművészet Online: (web archive versions) ** "Nikon 1917–1997", article by Endre Schwanner in English and in Hungarian ** "Sixty-five year history of Nikkor lenses", article by Endre Schwanner in English and in Hungarian ** Table of lens designs by Hermann Acht, taken from an unknown Japanese source ** Anytar 12cm f/4.5 lens on an unknown plate folder ** Nikkor 10.5cm f/4.5 on an unknown plate folder * Pages at Nekosan's website: ** Nikkor 120/4.5 lens ** Nikkor 120/4.5 lens and Hermes 55/3.5 enlarging lens * Pages at Red Book Nikkor by Akiyama Michio: ** R-Aero-Nikkor 50cm f/5.6 (also in Japanese) ** Aero-Nikkor 20cm f/3.5 in the May 2005 meeting report of the Nikon Kenkyukai Tokyo * Aero-Nikkor 20cm f/3.5 in the main page of Wetwing Aerial Camera In Japanese: * 75 years of Nikkor lenses at Ki ni natta koto, including a picture of the Aero-Nikkor 50cm f/4.8 In Chinese: * Pictures of the Anytar 12cm f/4.5 and Aero-Nikkor 50cm f/4.8 in a Chinese forum Category: Japanese lenses Category: Nikon